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I’ve always liked canned sardines. They’re a sustainable seafood and high in lovely omega-3 fat. There has been much talk of eating low on the seafood chain. Eating the small fish that the bigger fish eat makes perfect sense to me. It’s a balanced way of keeping our fish stocks growing.

In 2006, I became aware that fresh sardines were abundant in our own backyard. I had eaten sardines in Italian and Portuguese restaurants in Toronto and loved them. But here, there was an actual sardine festival and I was invited to give a demonstration and sampling. The recipe I chose was sardines with a sweet and sour balsamic, mint and onion glaze. There were hundreds of people and long lineups to buy fresh sardines which were priced fetchingly at 10 for $5, and various smoked sardine products.

Then in 2007, when Jill Lambert was collecting recipes for her book on sustainable seafood, A Good Catch, I was asked to do sardine recipes for the book and had to create them because there were no written ones in my repertoire. After sardine-ing it up, I offered the sardines to the kitchen and front of the house staff. There were polite nibbles but some flat out refused.

Barb Philip — the lovely and talented wine guru — was managing the floor that night. I mentioned that I was cooking whole sardines for dinner with hand-cut fries and aioli and would she like to join me. Without hesitation she agreed. I was thrilled to find a sardine lover in this wasteland. I grilled up a big plate of sardines, liberally seasoned with garlic and thyme and plopped them down on the table. No sooner than our first bite, a friend of Barb’s appeared. “Would you like some sardines?” we asked. “I would love some!” the friend replied and sat herself down. Another friend of Barb’s appeared and sat herself down. Then two more friends. The six of us happily ate the sardines, peeling the succulent flesh from the bones until all that was left were the bones and a tablecloth decorated with golden smears of aioli. This is pure joy in our own backyard to be enjoyed with real food people. You know, the ones who love sardines.

Roasted Sardines with Gremolata Crumbs

Gremolata, the combination of parsley, garlic and lemon is generally sprinkled over osso buco before serving but it’s a wonderful flavour combination with seafood too. And the crunch of golden breadcrumbs is a nice contrast to the sardines.

Bake until breadcrumbs are golden brown and fish are cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 4 servings

Sardines with Sweet and Sour Balsamic Glaze

Body:

This is a good introductory recipe to fresh sardines.

1 tablespoon (15 mL) vegetable oil

2 cups (500 mL) thinly sliced onion

1/4 cup (60 mL) sugar

1/4 cup (60 mL) water

1 tablespoon (15 mL) balsamic vinegar

sea salt

1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) sea salt

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper

20 medium, sardine fillets

vegetable oil for frying

1 tablespoon (15 mL) fresh mint, coarsely chopped

Heat the 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of vegetable oil in small frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion turns lightly brown. Add the sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts. Add the water, stir well and continue cooking until the mixture becomes syrupy. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and salt to taste.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Dip each sardine fillet into the flour mixture. Let sit until gummy, then dip into the flour mixture again.

Heat ¼-inch (.5 cm) of vegetable oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add as many sardines as will fit comfortably in the pan, flesh side down and fry until golden brown, approximately 1 minute. Flip over and brown the other side. Transfer the sardines to a platter as they are done.

Gently heat the onion mixture and spoon over the sardines. Sprinkle with the mint and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Moroccan Grilled Sardines

The marinade for the sardines is known as charmoula and is great with salmon and sablefish.

8 large, fresh whole sardines, scaled and gutted

3 cloves garlic, minced

¾ teaspoon (4 mL) sea salt

2 tablespoons (30 mL) lemon juice

3 tablespoons (45 mL) extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh cilantro

¼ cup (60 mL)) chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons (10 mL) sweet paprika

1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground coriander seeds

1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cumin seeds

Pinch each of saffron threads and hot red pepper flakes

Lemon wedges for serving

Place the sardines in a single layer in a non-reactive dish. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, pour over the sardines and turn the sardines to coat with the mixture. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, for 1 hour.

Heat the grill to high, then lightly oil the grill grate. Place the fish on the grill, presentation-side down. Grill until the skin is browned and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. With a thin bladed turner gently turn the fish over and grill the other side until done, another 3-4 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 4 servings

Grilled Sardines with Salsa Verde

One of my favourite sauces for sardines.

1 tablespoon (15 mL) capers

½ cup (125 mL) Italian parsley leaves, packed

½ cup (125 mL) fresh mint leaves, packed

¼ cup (60 mL) fresh basil leaves, packed

4 anchovy fillets

1 tablespoon (15 mL) red wine vinegar

½ cup (125 mL) extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 large, fresh whole sardines, scaled and gutted

4 lemon wedges

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and purée until smooth.

Season to taste, cover and refrigerate.

Heat the grill to high, then lightly oil the grill grate. Salt the sardines then place on the grill presentation-side down. Grill until the skin is browned and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. With a thin bladed turner gently turn the fish over and grill the other side until done, another 3-4 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 4 servings

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